Spider Attack: Clever, Scary Arachnid Hunting Strategies

Share

Spider Attack: Clever, Scary Arachnid Hunting Strategies

Stabbing, crushing, spitting and seducing are some of the more unusual, gruesome and clever ways spiders catch and kill their prey.
Though these predators are best known for ensnaring their food in sticky webs and paralyzing them with venom, this is only one of many ways the world's 40,000 or so known spider species catch a meal.
Spiders are found everywhere from rain forests to deserts, and can even be found in tide pools along the coast. What they eat, and how they capture it, is just as varied as where they live. Spiders catch and consume insects, other spiders and even small animals including snakes and birds.
Here are some of our favorite attack strategies.
Above:

Fishing Spider

This widely distributed group of spiders lives near water and fishes for aquatic insects, small fish and frogs. Fishing spiders wait near water, typically with their front legs resting on the surface to detect the vibrations of potential prey. Once an animal comes close enough, fishing spiders strike with their fangs. They'll also run across the water chasing after insects.
In the image below, a fishing spider is eating a tadpole in Gabon.
Images: 1) Andreas Kettenburg/CalPhoto, UC Berkeley. 2) Brian Gratwick/Flickr.

Golden Orb Weaver Spider

Spiders in this group are known for the golden sheen of their silk. Some species weave designs into their webs, creating zigzag patterns that can either attract prey, like bees, in bright sunlight, or camouflage the net in the shade. Golden orb weavers' large, strong webs have ensnared prey as large as birds. In the photo above, taken in a backyard near Cairns, Australia, a golden orb weaver is eating a bird that either flew or fell into its web.
Image: Newspix.

Bolas Spider

When night falls, bolas spiders prepare for a deadly seduction. They fashion a sticky lure suspended on a single line of silk. The lure is scented with a chemical that mimics the smell of a female moth. This draws in male moths looking to mate. As the prey approaches, bolas spiders swing their lure, trying to whack the moth with the sticky end. Once a moth is stuck, the spiders move in to kill and wrap up their meal.
Image: 1) Peter J. Bryant, University of California, Irvine.

Net-Casting Spider

These spiders hang upside down on a scaffold of silk, spin fuzzy webs they hold tight between two of their front legs and wait for insects. If a flying insect comes within reach, net-casting spiders will sweep their net toward the prey, snagging it out of the air. If an insect passes underneath them, the spiders drop down and spread a net over the victim.
Image: Louise Docker/Looking Glass Images.

Portia Spider

These predators specialize in hunting other spiders, and use different techniques depending on their prey. When they stalk spitting spiders, portia spiders approach from behind to avoid getting caught up in the sticky, venomous spit.
For less dangerous prey, some portia species infiltrate another spider's web by mimicking the vibrations of trapped insects or potential mates. Scientists aren't sure how Portia spiders don't get stuck in the webs of other spiders, but researcher Stim Wilcox at Binghamton University in New York thinks a waxy or oil-based outer coating on Portia spiders could keep them from getting snagged.
Images: 1) Rundstedt Rovillos/Flickr. 2) Paul Bertner/Flickr.

Assassin Spider

These arachnids have a taste for other spiders. Assassin spiders attack from a distance, using fangs at the ends of their elongated jaws to stab their prey. To keep their fangs from dragging along the ground, these spiders have a "neck" that supports their long jaws.
Assassin spiders lure their prey to them by plucking at the web of their intended target. Scientists think this mimics the vibrations of insects caught in the web or of potential mates for the unsuspecting target. Assassin spiders are found in South Africa, Australia, Madagascar, New Zealand and the southern part of South America.
Images: 1) Tamas Szuts/California Academy of Sciences. 2) Jeremy Miller.

Black Widow Spider

Black widow spiders build tangled-looking webs to snare their prey. The spiders mainly eat insects, but they have been known to trap and kill animals like snakes. Their venom is especially toxic to vertebrates, which makes their bite problematic for humans. Despite their reputation, female black widows rarely eat the males after mating.
Image: Konrad Summers/Flickr

Hackled Orb Weaver Spider

These widely distributed spiders lack venom glands and instead crush their prey to death by wrapping them tightly in cocoons of silk. Hackled orb weavers have a special structure that combs the silk as they draw it out of their spinnerets. This produces a fuzzy material, which the spiders use to snare their insect prey.
Image: Ed Nieuwenhuys/Spiders of Australia.